The Commerce School recently established a partnership with Peking University's Guanghua School of Management and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's School of Business and Management to allow students from the University to participate in a student exchange program beginning in the 2008-09 academic year.,
According to Commerce School Dean Carl Zeithaml, the partnership "is more multidimensional than just an exchange of students" and is similar to the Commerce School's program in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Zeithaml maintained that the program is different from other study abroad options offered through the Commerce School because students will not only be able to study in Peking and Hong Kong, but students from those universities also will be able to come to the University to take classes in the Commerce School. In addition, faculty from all three schools will be able to teach and conduct research at the other schools, Zeithaml said.
"We are looking for ways to create multiple faculty and student opportunities for long-term learning and long-term relationships that are more than just transactions of students," Zeithaml said. "We want to build programs."
Third-year Commerce student Juliana Yoon echoed Zeithaml concerning the expansive nature of the Commerce School's study abroad program, noting that "McIntire is definitely privileged in all forms, with study abroad at prestigious universities throughout the world. There are lots of benefits to studying abroad."
Zeithaml maintained that the goal for the new partnerships stems from the Commerce School's desire to build "a portfolio of options for students to study abroad." In addition to taking classes at GSM and HKUST, students studying abroad will be able to interact with University alumni and corporate partners who conduct business in Asia.
"We went and visited both HKUST and GSM and proposed these relationships, and honestly, because of our ranking they're very familiar with the program at McIntire and were anxious to develop a relation with one of the top-ranked undergraduate business programs in the world," he said.
Zeithaml noted that the Commerce School has "really done [its] homework on the best programs," which is why the school chose to establish partnerships with GSM and HKUST, two of the top business schools in Asia. He added that Asia is critical to the global business environment today and will continue to become even more important.
"To establish a strong partnership with the best schools in Asia is exactly what McIntire and U.Va. should do," Zeithaml said.
There are many diverse benefits to studying abroad, Zeithaml noted.
"Business today is global, and if you ... don't have an appreciation for the culture, the politics, the people and the business practices of important areas of the world then you're not going to be prepared to be a good business person or even to be a thoughtful, good citizen of the world," he said.
Zeithaml added that the Commerce School is actively looking to form these types of partnerships with the best universities throughout the world.
"The bottom line is that although we do the best job that we can for our students here in Charlottesville, to be an effective business person in the next 25 years you're going to need to understand different parts of the world, and these partnerships are a means to achieve that end," Zeithaml said.
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